“He followed them!” I bawled, tears streaming down my face. “I tried to get him to come with me, but he wouldn’t come!”
Travis looked down at the approaching fire and his eyebrows pulled in. I sucked in a breath, coughing when smoke filled my lungs. He looked down at me, his eyes filling with tears. “I’m gonna get us outta here, Pidge.” His lips pressed against mine in one quick, firm movement, and then he climbed on top of my make-shift ladder.
He pushed at the window, and then twisted the lock, the muscles of his arms quivering as he used all of his strength against the glass.
“Get back, Abby! I’m gonna break the glass!”
Afraid to move, I could only manage one step away from our only way out. Travis’ elbow bent as he reared back his fist, yelling as he rammed it into the window. I turned away, shielding my face with my bloody hands as the glass shattered above me.
“Come on!” he yelled, holding his hand out to me. The heat from the fire took over the room, and I soared into the air as he lifted me from the ground and pushed me outside.
I waited on my knees as Travis climbed out, and then helped him to his feet. The sirens were blaring from the other side of the building, and red and blue lights from fire engines and police cruisers danced across the brick on the adjacent buildings.
We ran to the crowd of people standing in front of the building, scanning the dirty faces for Trent. Travis yelled his brother’s name, his voice becoming more and more hopeless with each call. He pulled out his cell phone to check for a missed call and then slammed it shut, covering his mouth with his blackened hand.
“TRENT!” Travis screamed, stretching his neck as he searched the crowd.
Those that had escaped were hugging and whimpering behind the emergency vehicles, watching in horror as the pumper truck shot water through the windows and firefighters ran inside, pulling hoses behind them.
Travis ran his hand over the stubble on his scalp, shaking his head. “He didn’t get out,” he whispered. “He didn’t get out, Pidge.”
My breath caught as I watched the soot on his cheeks streak with his tears. He fell to his knees and I fell with him.
“Trent’s smart, Trav. He got out. He had to have found a different way,” I said, trying to convince myself as well.
Travis collapsed into my lap, gripping my shirt with both fists. I held him. I didn’t know what else to do.
An hour had passed. We watched with waning hope as the firefighters brought out two people, and then continuously came out empty handed. As the paramedics tended to the injured and ambulances tore into night with burn victims, we waited. Half an hour later, the bodies they were returning with were beyond saving. The ground was lined with casualties, far outnumbering those of us that had escaped. Travis’ eyes didn’t leave the door, waiting for them to pull his brother from the ashes.
“Travis?”
We turned at the same time to see Adam standing beside us. Travis stood up, pulling me along with him.
“I’m glad to see you guys made it out,” Adam said, looking stunned and bewildered. “Where’s Trent?”
Travis didn’t answer.
Our eyes returned to the charred remains of Keaton Hall, the thick black smoke still billowing from the windows. I buried my face into Travis’ chest, shutting my eyes tight, hoping at any moment I would wake up.
“I have to uh…I have to call my dad,” Travis said, his eyebrows pulling together as he opened his cell phone.
I took a breath, hoping my voice would sound stronger than I felt. “Maybe you should wait, Travis. We don’t know anything, yet.”
His eyes didn’t leave the number pad, and his lip quivered. “This ain’t fucking right. He shoulda never been there.”
“It was an accident, Travis. You couldn’t have known something like this was going to happen,” I said, touching his cheek.
His face compressed, his eyes shutting tight. He took in a deep breath and began to dial his father’s number.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
jet plane